As I write this LONG post, I’m now 2 weeks from my official due date of August 11, 2014. Technically, it could be any day, which is exciting to think about! It’s also maddening to imagine having to wait another 3 weeks. It’s so strange that such a momentous and life-altering day is also one big mystery. When I prepared for our wedding, I knew the date of the big day. Now, I have no clue other than knowing that it will eventually come!

WEEK 27

I started my third trimester in mid-May. Our “other” anniversary, on Saturday, May 17th, marked 23 years of Eric and I being together as a couple. No one can tell us we rushed into having kids, now, huh? 😉

WEEK 28

On Tuesday, May 20th, I had another midwife appointment. It was another opportunity to hear the heartbeat:

On the same day that I wrote, “most active day yet” in my calendar (June 3rd), I received this baby shirt in the mail. It’s from my #NSNG friend, ScottyO, from Aspen. Sweet!

Thank you, Uncle Scotty!

On Wednesday, June 4th, I took the day off work, to go to a 3 hour midwife appointment. The purpose was testing for gestational diabetes. I had to fast the night before, and get my blood drawn at 9 AM. Then I drank 75 grams of glucose. Icky! My blood was drawn again at 10 AM and 11 AM.

I felt a bit ill and headachy after consuming the drink, but it was okay. The worst was that I didn’t eat any real food until shortly after noon, and by then my blood sugar was really crashing. As I sat down to eat my lunch, I was shaky and sweaty.

On Sunday, June 8th, we hiked to Heather Lake, which is right next to Mt Pilchuck. It’s ~4.7 miles round trip, including circumnavigating the lake. It starts at 1400 ft elevation, and the lake is at 2400 ft. It felt really wonderful to be in the mountains, and I saw 2 other pregnant hikers, too!

31 Weeks – Heather Lake

Heather Lake – Sunday, June 8, 2014

My first baby shower was on Saturday, June 14th. It was fun to socialize with family and friends. And, I “made” each person pose for a picture with us when we opened his or her gift. I am a picture taker!

The venue was the Shire Cafe, a vegetarian restaurant in Arlington, WA. All the food served was vegan…of course! My sister made this adorable diaper cake…

Diaper Cake by Karin

Baby Shower – Saturday, June 14, 2014

WEEK 32

On Friday, June 20th, we drove to Bend, OR to visit my family for the weekend. On the way out of Seattle, I finally had the opportunity to satisfy the vegan donut craving I’d been fighting way back in January/February. Mighty-O for the whole family!

Mighty-O Donuts (Vegan)

We met up for lunch in Bend at Salud! Raw Food Cafe. It’s pretty much the polar opposite of vegan donuts! You gotta have balance in your life, right?

Eric’s Salad

My Plate

On Saturday, June 21st, Eric went mountain bike riding with our brother-in-law, while my sister and I hiked along the Deschutes River with her kids.

Hiking along the Deschutes River – Saturday, June 21, 2014

WEEK 33

On Monday, June 23rd, I had a special surprise waiting for me at work. My ~95 year old former patient, Lillian, had left me a baby present. Lillian never had kids of her own and she was so happy for me when I told her I was pregnant. She was way too generous!

Gifts From Lillian

WEEK 34

This week I officially decreased my work schedule from 5 days per week, down to 4. It was time!

At my midwife appointment on Wednesday, July 2nd, I found out that baby was head down and facing toward the back. To date, he’s stayed in that good position. We also met with my doula, from Serene Doulas.

34 Weeks

For the 4th of July holiday, we headed to Wenatchee for our last “just the two of us” weekend at our condo. I put on my bikini and we cooled off in the pool.

34 Weeks + 4 Days

For comparison, THIS was me exactly a year prior!

What a Difference a Year Makes – July 4, 2013

On Saturday, July 5th, we hiked 4.6 miles of the loop trail at Icicle Gorge, just outside of Leavenworth, WA. More wilderness therapy…I need it to remain grounded!

Upper Loop at Icicle Gorge

Mountain Views From Icicle Gorge

Along the Icicle River

After the hike, we had a tasty and beautiful vegan pizza at Lemolo Cafe & Deli, in Wenatchee.

Vegan Pizza at Lemolo

WEEK 36

Thanks to my friend, Molly, we got a nice car seat and stroller set. Here, the fuzzy frog from Nana tests it out for us!

Looks Comfy!

36 Weeks

On Wednesday, July 16th, I started my weekly midwife appointments. I also had my 2nd baby shower. My thoughtful co-workers at my last job put it together for me. I hadn’t seen these gals since last October. I especially thank Sharon for being the host and Julie for making the cake. I felt very special!

Anacortes Baby Shower – July 16, 2014

Vegan & Gluten Free Cake with Coconut Bliss Ice Cream

Before I left work on the evening of Thursday, July 17th, I suddenly leaked some watery, clear fluid that gave me a brief scare. It wasn’t much, but it didn’t seem like urine, and it wasn’t anything typical for this pregnancy. I called my midwife and she told me to wait and see if more fluid leaked out. It didn’t…phew! I was glad that it wasn’t my water breaking. I was only at 36 weeks + 3 days.

For the weekend of July 19th, we traveled to Ocean Shores, WA, to visit Eric’s parents. It was our last “long” road trip before baby comes. Now, we’ll stay close to home!

WEEK 37

At my midwife appointment on Thursday, July 24th, I found out that I am a carrier for Group B Strep. That means I will take IV Penicillin during labor. GBS can cause serious problems in newborns, even though it’s not harmful to the healthy carrier.

WEEK 38

At this late stage, I’m thankful for a LOT. Top on the list is not having our baby premature. But, I’m also thankful for no stretch marks, and for being able to keep my navel ring in. I’ve had the ring since 1996!

Here, I will recap my 1st trimester with #minivegan. Every pregnancy is a different experience! Here’s mine…

First of all, I didn’t take a pregnancy test until day 45. Up until the test I really did NOT think I could be pregnant! I just couldn’t see how it was possible based on my “data.”

Over the past year, I’d had some really long menstrual cycles…i.e. a 37 day cycle in June, 36 days in July, and 38 days in September. My longest cycle ever in my life was 39 days. But that was a long time ago.

I attributed the increasingly long cycles to peri-menopause. I am 42! Needless to say, at some point it seemed wise to take “the test.”

I took the test right when I got home. The double lines showed up instantly. I didn’t have to wait 3 minutes like the instructions said. My reaction was complete disbelief, shock, and denial. No way could it be real! I paced the house until Eric got home. It seemed like it took him forever!

Once he got home, I brought him back to the bathroom where the positive test was sitting on the counter. I said, “There’s something going on.” I can’t speak for him, but needless to say he was shocked, too. Our birth control method– though not foolproof (obviously!!)– had worked well for 20+ years. Now this!

January 17, 2014 – 10 Weeks + 4 Days Pregnant

The next day, Eric described my pregnancy announcement to a friend on Facebook, like this:

“I got home from work and she said there is something going on as she led me back to the bathroom. I was thinking maybe we had a pipe burst or something like that. Fortunately it was just an unplanned pregnancy…”

Hahaha!

I didn’t sleep well Friday night. On Saturday morning, December 7, I was still in denial and so I took the second pee test. After the second positive test, I decided it had to be true. Then, I informed my parents, sister and all of my Facebook friends.

I didn’t have any pregnancy symptoms for another week. Starting in mid-December, my appetite started picking up. Hunger has definitely been my #1 symptom, and it hasn’t let up. Sometimes it is a *desperate* hunger!

January 17, 2014 – 10 Weeks + 4 Days Pregnant

If you have followed this blog, then you know that– prior to this pregnancy– I was eating a vegan diet that was largely NSNG (No Sugar No Grains). Well, pregnancy changed all of that. “Desperate Hunger” has meant that I’ve had no choice but to increase my consumption of grains and starches.

For one, I became turned off by some major “players” in my NSNG diet: nuts and nut butters. For two, I started craving things like toast, homemade muffins, rice, oatmeal, cold cereal, and baked potato. For a time, I wanted hummus but I was turned off by tofu. My food preferences seem to change by the day. For now, I still can’t eat the lentil soup that I’d been eating for lunch for the past several years.

Remember my post about going 35 Days Without Coffee? I loved my daily lattes! Once I found out I was pregnant, I cut them out to avoid the caffeine. I had one or two decaf soy lattes at first. But now coffee is “meh.” Pregnancy is goofy!

My nights should be sponsored by the PROBAR Superfood Slam. This is what I’ve been eating when I wake up hungry every night between midnight and 3 a.m. Yes, it contains more sugar than I’d like, but it does give me a substantial 380 calories, 20 grams of needed fat, and 10 grams of protein.

PROBAR Superfood Slam

The PROBAR delivers nuts to me in a palatable form. I’ve found that I can tolerate nuts and nut butters as long as I don’t try to eat them “plain.” I can eat peanut butter and almond butter IF I put them on toast or bake them into muffins. I also blend them into banana smoothies.

The very worst of my 1st trimester symptoms was the PROFOUND lethargy I experienced, lasting about 3 weeks. This phase covered the week before Christmas through New Years. It was awful! I never felt so tired in my life. It was downright depressing because I’ve always been a super active person. I felt so weak and inadequate.

Other symptoms: bloating, heartburn, headaches. Some days are better than others. I’m VERY fortunate that I haven’t experienced any nausea or vomiting!!

My favorite symptom? Bigger boobs! I’ve never really had boobs, and now I have a little bit of fullness there. Yippee! It’s definitely worth the minor soreness. They started growing around Christmas. Thanks, Santa! The soreness started out near my armpits and worked its way medially.

Christmas gift from my sister’s thoughtful mother-in-law.

Sunday, January 5, 2014 was the turning point for my lethargy. It finally abated. What a great relief that was! I can’t say I feel completely “back to normal,” but the improvement was significant. I can now function during the day. Just as important, I’m starting to get back into an exercise schedule. I do want to be a fit pregnant lady!

TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2014

I had my first midwife appointment at Cascade Birth Center. We heard the heartbeat for the first time on Doppler. It took a few minutes of probing my belly to locate our little person, but once the signal was picked up, the sound was UNmistakable! Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! That made it REAL. So special. I should have taken an audio recording with my phone.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 17, 2014

First ultrasound! We went into the appointment thinking that I was about 12 weeks along (based on my last menstrual period). My due date would have been July 30, 2014. But, based on the ultrasound, my due date was adjusted to August 11, 2014.

Eric was able to join me for the appointment. I was expecting to have a transvaginal ultrasound, but the technician was able to get all the views she needed via abdominal ultrasound. Right when she put the transducer on my belly, the obvious image of a baby emerged on the screen. “There’s a baby there,” she said!

The best part was seeing the little person start squirming around. The little bug appeared to be turning over, doing ab crunches and making boxing moves with his or her arms. TOO CUTE!!

I intended to include our ultrasound pics in this post, but the radiology clinic’s CD burner was not working. We have to wait until next week to get a copy. I’m going to do a separate post with all the pics. Stay tuned!

———————————————–

STATS…

Last Menstrual Period: October 23, 2013
Probable Date of Conception: November 17, 2013
Due Date: August 11, 2014